The Next Generation
by fairy-dust3
Summary: Sixteen years ago, Phoebe chose to stand by Cole, her husband and the source of all evil. Since then, there has been a truce between good and evil. Phoebe has not had any contact with her sisters since becoming Cole’s queen. However, a new power is formin
1. Default Chapter

Hey. This is my second Charmed story (please check out my first called Little Women) and, unlike the first one, this one has magic and all that jazz in it.

Just some things – Leo never became an avatar, Phoebe's first child was actually twins, Cole was never vanquished, Chris never came from the future and the whole Utopia thing didn't happen, nor did the Gideon thing (mostly because I didn't really watch Charmed then and so am not entirely clear on what happened.)

**Summary:-** Sixteen years ago, Phoebe chose to stand by Cole, her husband and the source of all evil. Since then, there has been a truce between good and evil. Phoebe has not had any contact with her sisters since becoming Cole's queen. However, a new power is forming, more than either side can handle alone, and the Halliwell sisters will have to re-unite their families in order to defeat this power and train the next Charmed Ones.

Pairings – Phoebe/Cole – Piper/Leo – Paige/Glenn

**The kids:-**

Wyatt Halliwell – 15

Chris Halliwell – 13

Melinda Halliwell – 7

Benjamin Turner – 16

Alexia Turner – 16

Smith Turner – 8

Lily Belland-Halliwell – 3

_Anything in Italics is telepathic talking._

* * *

* * *

**Chapter One: Nightmares and Reunions**

_Thunder crashed as the roof was ripped off the house. A child screamed. A ring of fire, seven feet tall, surrounded them. Suddenly, a hideous face appeared through the flames and grinned, black fangs glistening, yellow eyes gleaming. The creature opened its huge mouth and breathed in. A vortex appeared and rapidly widened, a swirling mass of orange and green, sucking everything and everyone into it._

In a house in San Francisco, a little girl woke up screaming. Simultaneously, two other girls, one a teenager and one a toddler, did the same thing; one in a small apartment, one in a luxurious penthouse.

In the house, a man and a woman ran into the little girl's room.

"Ssh, honey, everything's okay," soothed the woman, wrapping her arms around her daughter.

"Was it the dream again?" asked her father.

The girl nodded her dark head and sniffed, burying her head in her mother's long, brown hair.

"Piper-"

"I know Leo."

"You need to call-"

"-Paige. I know Leo."

"And you have to-"

"I know Leo," Piper repeated for the third time, brown eyes flaring angrily. "But not now. We'll talk to Paige in the morning and then discuss what to do."

"Okay." Leo ruffled his little girl's hair. "You want to come sleep in our bed Melinda?"

Melinda Halliwell nodded and Leo lifted her up.

A tired looking teen stumbled into the room, wiping his blue eyes and scratching the back of his blond head.

"S'going on?" he yawned.

"Melinda had a bad dream. That's all," replied Piper. "Go back to bed Wyatt."

"'Kay. Night."

* * *

Next morning, a tired looking Paige entered through the kitchen door of the manor, carrying a little girl with blonde bunches, big brown eyes and a toy rabbit that looked like it'd seen better days.

"Morning Paige," said Piper, pouring a second cup of coffee for her sister. "Hi Lily."

"Hi Auntie Pipey," replied Lily, scrambling down from her mother's arms and wrapping her little arms around her aunt's legs.

"Melinda's watching Spongebob in the sitting room," Piper told Lily, before chuckling softly as the toddler tore off into the next room.

Paige collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table and gratefully accepted the mug Piper handed her.

"I need to sleep," she whined, laying her head on the table.

"Nightmare?" inquired Piper, already aware of the answer.

Paige nodded. "Nightmare. Every night now for two weeks."

"Melinda too. This means something."

The younger sister pulled her light brown hair back into a ponytail and sighed. "I know. And it scares Lily so much. Problem is, she can't really explain to me what's actually happening in the dream."

"I suppose it's a bit much for a three year old," Piper agreed. "Melinda's explanations don't really tell me much. Just that she's surrounded by fire and this…thing…opens it's mouth and sucks everything into it."

"And that the thing has big, black teeth and yellow eyes."

"Hmm," mused Piper, taking a sip of her coffee. "I checked the book, twice. There is nothing at all like that in there. Nothing even close to that."

There was a swirl of blue and white lights as Leo orbed in and sat at the head of the table, looking as tired as the two women felt.

"No one knows anything up there."

"Figured as much," muttered Paige.

"But if both Melinda and Lily are getting these dreams, then it probably means that-"

Piper cut him off. "Leo, we know what that probably means. But until we know what this creature is and that it isn't from…you know…down there…then we'll deal with it ourselves."

Leo sighed in exasperation. "Piper-!"

Before Piper could reply, Paige interrupted. "Piper, I know where you're coming from on this. I really do. But, for the safety of our kids, I think we should go talk to Phoebe."

"Fine," replied Piper, defeated.

"I also think we should go now," Paige continued.

"What?" exclaimed Piper. "Now? Can't we maybe…I don't know…prepare a little first?"

"What are you suggesting? We take a muffin basket and an animal carcass?"

"Paige is right," Leo said softly. "Both girls have been having these nightmares every night for two weeks. It's not good for them. They're so young."

Piper could see she was going to be overruled on this one, so she sat back in her chair and looked at her hands.

"I know you guys are right," she murmured, almost inaudibly. "But it took be so long to get over losing another sister, I just don't know if I can…"

"Piper, I know what you're feeling. I'm scared about seeing Phoebe after so long, and I don't know what to expect. But I do know that Lily means more to be than anything, and I know Melinda means the same to you, and I'm willing to do anything for her."

Piper looked up at her younger sister, who, in that moment, was a replica of Prue, and smiled slightly.

"Okay. Let's go now before I change my mind," she agreed, holding out her hand to Paige. "Leo, please look after the kids."

"Course I will, honey."

"Oh and later you need to have a word with your sons about the no-orbing policy."

Leo smiled. "As long as you have a word with your daughter about the blowing up vegetables thing. Mushed sprouts are really hard to get out of your hair."

Piper chuckled, and Leo could still hear her chuckling as she and Paige orbed out.

* * *

Over the other side of town, in a penthouse apartment in The Towers, a sixteen-year-old girl was sitting cross-legged on the white, carpet floor, watching as her twin brother lazily spun an energy ball on his hand from his position laying on the sofa.

Suddenly, she noticed something. A small cloud of blue and white lights.

'_Ben, Ben!'_

'_What Lex?'_

'_Look. There. What is that?'_

'_I have no idea.'_

"Dad!" the twins yelled in unison.

The doors to the dining room that doubled as their father's "office" slammed open and the source, Cole Turner, stormed out, eyes flaming angrily.

"What? I'm in the middle of something."

"Look!" Ben and Alexia exclaimed, pointing at the cloud that had now formed into two figures.

"What the hell?" muttered Cole.

The cloud dissipated and the twins looked in astonishment at the two women standing there. One had long, brown hair and chocolate eyes, while the other had light brown hair, cut stylishly just above her shoulders, and hazel eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here?" demanded Cole.

"We need to talk to Phoebe," replied Paige, her tone icy. "Now."

"She's not here," Cole informed them, his words ice encrusted. "So why don't you just go back to where you came from and leave us alone."

"Dad, who are they?" asked Alexia, Cole's only daughter and the apple of his eye.

She and her brother were now both standing, side by side, a few feet behind their father.

Piper glared at Cole, hands just itching to blow him up. "We don't want to be here any more than you want us here, but this isn't about us. It's about mine and Paige's daughters, and probably yours as well."

"What do you want with my daughter?"

Ignoring Cole and the anger that was coming off him in waves, Paige turned to the pretty, young girl standing behind him. She was a carbon copy of her mother, and Paige tried to ignore the slight sting that went through her.

"Have you been having nightmares recently?"

Nervously, Alexia nodded. "For the past two weeks."

"About what?"

She looked to her father and Cole gestured for her to answer Paige's question. Despite himself, he was curious, and, if someone could help rid his daughter of the nightmares that plagued her night after night, then he was willing to accept their help.

"I'm standing in a room and there's a huge ring of fire comes up around me and some other people. I can't tell who they are. And then this horrible face comes through the flames and it's got black fangs and yellow eyes. Then it opens its mouth and there's a vortex and everything gets sucked into it."

Paige and Piper exchanged a look. Their fears had been confirmed.

"Alright, what's going on? You just orb in here and start asking my daughter all these questions."

"Where is Phoebe. We need to talk to her. Now," Piper repeated.

At that moment, a burst of flames appeared next to Cole, and Phoebe was standing in front of them, her arm around a small boy.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" she asked Piper and Paige.

"That's what I've been asking them," Cole informed her.

"We need to talk to you about something really important," Paige told her, her tone almost begging.

"They know about my nightmares," Alexia said, quietly.

Phoebe visibly stiffened. "Ben, Alexia, take Smith and play on the playstation or something. Quietly. Cole, go and finish whatever you're doing in there." She turned to her estranged sisters. "You two, come with me."

Piper and Paige followed her into the master bedroom and sat on the bed.

"Phoebe-"

Phoebe cut Paige off. "No. You're not allowed to be here. Sixteen years ago we agreed on a truce. Our demons would stop attacking you and, in return, you'd stop hunting us down. Cole and I would stay out of your way, as long as you stayed out of ours. Why can't you stick to those simple agreements?"

"We've stuck to them for sixteen years. But this isn't about us, or about good versus evil. This is about the Charmed Ones-" Piper argued.

"The Charmed Ones are dead, Piper. There is no more Charmed Ones. There is no power of three. Its over."

Piper shook her head. "No it's not. Why do you think that mine, Paige's and your daughters are all having the exact same dream? Why aren't Wyatt and Chris or your sons? We may not be the Charmed Ones any more, but there's the next generation."

"Piper. Don't you understand? The power of three has to be gone. The Charmed Ones have to be dead."

"But why?" asked Paige.

Phoebe turned on her, her eyes flaming just like Cole's had. "Because if they aren't dead, they soon will be. We all will be."

"What do you mean?"

"If you're right, then that means Cole and I are harbouring a Charmed One. If it was to be discovered they would kill Cole, then they would kill me, and then they would kill our children. The truce would be over, and good and evil would be fighting again. They'd kill your children, then they'd kill your husbands, and then they'd kill you," Phoebe shouted. "The only reason that this truce exists is because Cole and I have done everything we can to prove to the demons and the warlocks that they are no longer threatened by the Charmed Ones."

"If you won't co-operate with us for our sake, or for the sake of our children, then do it for the sake of your children," Piper implored, her voice low and her tone even. "Do it for your sons and your daughters."

With that, Piper and Paige orbed out and Phoebe yelled angrily, blasting flames from her hands at the door. As she did so, the door opened and Cole walked in, buffeted backwards by the flames.

"Phoebe, what was that about?" Cole asked.

"We may have a problem."

* * *

Eh, that first chapter was iffy, but tell me what you think please. 


	2. Family vs Family

Eek, sorry it's taken so long to update but I've been busy with GCSEs (yes, they've started, but I've already finished 4 subjects so woo!). Also, I want to make this good, or, you know, not totally crap.

Just a happy note for me – woo! I got a £800 scholarship to the college I'm going to in September. Woo!

Um I got asked to list all the kids' powers so…

**Wyatt **– orbing, healing

**Chris** – orbing, healing

**Melinda** – freezing, exploding, slowing/speeding objects

**Ben **- flaming, energy balls, fire from the hands, levitation

**Alexia** – flaming, energy balls, fire from the hands, premonitions

The twins also have the ability to talk telepathically to each other

**Smith** – flaming, levitation

**Lily** – orbing, healing, moving things with her mind (what's the word for that?)

Basically, they inherited powers from their parents, but Lily only got powers from Paige because Glenn is mortal. These powers may progress through the course of the story.

This follows directly on from the last chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Family vs. Family**

"We may have a problem."

Cole looked at his wife of fifteen years and blinked. "Problem?"

"Yes," nodded Phoebe, sitting on the bed.

Cole sat next to her. "How big of a problem?"

Phoebe sighed. "Before I tell you, you have to promise you won't burn anything."

"I promise."

"I'd really prefer it if you sat on your hands on something," Phoebe suggested.

Cole smiled slightly and pushed his hands underneath him. "Better."

"Yes." Phoebe pushed her hair back with her hands and twisted it on top of her head, roughly sticking a pencil through it to hold it up.

"So how much of a problem do we have?" asked Cole, the mood suddenly serious again.

"You know this dream Lexi's been having? Well, Piper and Paige's kids have been having them too?"

"All of them?" frowned Cole. "'Cause Ben and Smith haven't-"

"No. Just their daughters." She sighed again. "The Charmed Ones-"

"Phoebe, the Charmed Ones are just a myth now. You know that, "Cole replied softly. "There's nothing to worry about there."

Phoebe shook her head. "Apparently not."

"What do you mean?" demanded Cole.

He was startled as she stood up all of a sudden and glared at him. "Oh come on Cole. Don't you get it? Three Halliwell girls, all having the same dream? Piper's daughter, Paige's daughter and my daughter. Don't you understand?"

"Instead of patronising me, why don't you just tell me?" suggested Cole, feeling anger rise slowly inside of him.

"Piper, Paige, Prue and I, we weren't the only generation of Charmed Ones. We were wrong when we thought the Charmed Ones had to be sisters. Alexia, Melinda and Lily are the Charmed Ones. The next generation."

Cole stood up and looked down at his wife. "No," was all he said.

"What do you mean 'no'?" she asked, hands on her hips, staring up at her husband. "Even the Source can't decide this. You can't just say no and expect to have it your way, Cole. Not everything works that way."

"But there can't be. It jeopardises everything!" Cole shouted.

"You don't think I know that? You don't think I told Piper and Paige that? But we can't change it. The Charmed Ones still exist."

"No!" Cole shouted again. "No! We can't change it but we don't have to just give up and go along with it, Phoebe! There hasn't been any need for the Charmed Ones in the past fifteen years because of the truce. Why, all of a sudden, are they needed now?"

"When the fuck did you get so naïve?" Phoebe screamed back, eyes gleaming and face reddening slightly. "The reason it's happening now is because there's something coming. Something big."

"But-" Cole started to protest.

"Cole, this thing has nothing to do with the truce. The truce still stays until we say it doesn't."

"Then what?"

"This…creature…in the dream. It's coming and it's bigger than either side can handle. Good can't fight it, and neither can evil. Neither side will win."

"So, basically, we're screwed?"

"I don't know. Piper and Paige went. They don't know any more that we do right now." Phoebe took a deep breath, looked Cole straight in the eye and said, "We need to go up there, to the manor, and talk with Piper and Paige and Leo about what we're going to do about this creature, and what we're going to do about the Charmed Ones."

For a moment, Cole looked like a fish on dry land gasping for air. "W-What do you mean 'what we're going to do'? It's clear what we're going to do. Nothing."

"I'm sorry, since when did you get to make the decisions for all of us?"

"When did you and your sisters become an 'us' again? In the space of five minutes you've deserted your family to fight the 'good fight' again!"

"Cole, Piper and Paige are my family! So are Leo and Glenn. I don't even know my own nieces and nephews for Christ's sake!"

"What about your children?" yelled Cole. "Are you going to risk their lives for whatever mission you're suddenly hell bent on? What about me, Phoebe?"

Cole suddenly looked lost and sat back down on the bed.

"If you desert me for them…I may as well just give up."

The sight of her husband sitting pathetically before her, his head in his hands, sent a pang through Phoebe's heart, and she knelt before him and put her hands on his knees.

"Cole, I love you and my children more than anything. I'm not deserting you, I could never even consider doing that."

Her voice was soft and gentle now, her eyes kind and loving.

"Fifteen years ago I made a choice, and I chose you. I'm not going back on that decision. But now our children are in danger, and I will do anything to protect my children. I know you're the same. If re-uniting the Charmed Ones is the only way to protect our children from God knows what, then I'll do it without a second thought."

Cole looked up, into her big brown eyes and smiled slightly. The pencil had fallen from Phoebe's hair, and the dark locks hung around her flushed face. He pushed them back behind her ear and ran his thumb down the side of her face.

"Okay."

"Okay?" repeated Phoebe.

Cole nodded. "Not happily. But for our children."

"I love you," Phoebe replied, pulling Cole down to kiss him.

"I love you too."

He stood up, pulling Phoebe with him, and became business like.

"This has to stay secret. If anyone finds out-"

"I know," soothed Phoebe. "They won't. I promise you."

Cole kissed Phoebe in the forehead and then pulled open the doors of their bedroom.

"Kids! We're taking a little trip."

* * *

Eh…review please. 


	3. Twice Cursed

Sorry it's taken me such a ridiculously long time to update, but with school and work and stuff I've been pretty busy, and then I got sick. I'm better now though. But excuses aside, I will be updating both this story, and Little Women, a lot more in the future.

Just to make clear – Leo IS an elder. Also, there's quite a bit of harsh language in this chapter.

* * *

* * *

**Chapter Three: Twice Cursed**

Leo was sat at the kitchen table, helping Melinda and Lily so some drawings, while attempting to keep the crayons off the table. He saw the telltale signs of Piper and Paige's return, and smiled as Lily looked in wonder at the swirling blue and white lights. As they re-appeared, Paige moved immediately to make coffee, while Piper sank into a chair next to Leo.

"Not good then?" he asked.

"Not good," agreed Piper.

"Phoebe's kind of a b-" Paige stopped herself. "Ears."

Melinda and Lily put their hands over their ears before Paige continued.

"Yea, kind of a bitch. And don't even get me started on that mistake of a husband."

"Mummy, I draws lots of pictures," said Melinda, climbing into Piper's lap.

"Me too."

"Sweetie, they're lovely. Both of you," Piper told them, kissing her daughter's dark head and smiling at her niece.

"Let's go play," Melinda said to Lily, and the two ran off together.

"So what happened?" inquired Leo.

"We told them the deal, they said no. End of story," answered Paige, cradling her coffee mug in her hands.

Piper shrugged. "That's basically it. Except Phoebe was a bit more dramatic."

Suddenly the kitchen was filled with a blast of heat and Paige jumped back as five columns of fire appeared in the kitchen. When the flames disappeared, Cole, Phoebe and their three children were standing there. Both adults were dressed head to toe in black; Cole in a suit, Phoebe in a dress that fell to her knees.

Cole smirked when he saw the shocked looks on Piper, Paige and Leo's faces.

"What, no hug?"

"Didn't expect you to come here. At least, not so soon," replied Piper.

"Cole and I want to protect our children. If this is the way then we'll do it," explained Phoebe.

Piper smiled softly. "I'm glad"

Phoebe returned the smile and sat at the table, pulling Cole to sit next to her. Paige settled herself at the head of the table.

"Wyatt, Chris, come here and bring the girls," called Leo.

"What are you-?" Paige began to ask.

Leo smiled. "I think perhaps our family should properly meet."

A few moments later, Piper and Leo's sons came into the kitchen followed by Melinda and Lily.

Phoebe's breath caught in her throat as she looked at her two handsome nephews and her two beautiful nieces.

Wyatt, Piper and Leo's eldest son, was blond and blue eyed, a spitting image of Leo, while Chris, their middle child, had Piper's dark hair and eyes. Melinda, their little girl, looked just like Piper had at that age, with her dark hair, large brown eyes and child like innocence.

Paige's daughter Lily was gorgeous, all blonde bunches and blue eyes, with toddler's chubby cheeks and a big grin on her face.

Piper, Paige and Leo, meanwhile, were taking in Phoebe and Leo's children. The twins looked more like Phoebe than Cole, with light brown hair and hazel eyes, but their facial structure, the glint in their eyes, and the way a smirk seemed to tug at their lips, was all Cole. The little boy looked like a little Cole, the only trace of his mother being the shy smile that played around his mouth.

"What's up, dad?" asked Wyatt. "'Cause me and Chris where in the middle of a major Soul Calibur tournement."

"Kids, this here is your Aunt Phoebe and your Uncle Cole," Leo said. "And your cousins"

Despite Cole's grumblings, Phoebe smiled warmly back at Leo.

"And they are your Aunts Piper and Paige, and your Uncle Leo. And your cousins, Wyatt, Chris, Melinda and Lily," she responded.

"Ben, Alexia and Smith," Cole muttered, gesturing at his children, while looking warily at the other four, as if he feared they might curse him at any moment.

The children murmered greetings to each other and then stood awkwardly, looking to their parents for instructions.

"Why don't you guys all go and play on the playstation or something?" suggested Leo.

Seeing her eldest children glance at her, Phoebe smiled and nodded, gesturing for Ben, Alexia and Smith to follow their cousins out of the kitchen.

"So, what do we do?" demanded Cole, all business, his only concern being protecting his children and then getting the hell out of there.

Piper shrugged. "We know about as much as you do. That the three girls are the new power of three, and that, unless that power is re-envoked, the entire universe is screwed."

"I could ask the elders," suggested Leo. "Maybe they could help."

"No!" exclaimed Cole and Phoebe in unison, identical looks of panic on their face.

Paige looked at them. "I don't think the elders are going to come down and smite you," she said, smiling sardonically. "Unfortunately," she muttered, below her breath.

"What's wrong with Leo asking the elders?" inquired Piper. "They'd help to save the world."

"They've been a great help with guiding Wyatt, Chris, Melinda with their powers," continued Leo.

"Something tells me that they'd be less of a help to our children," replied Cole.

Phoebe placed her hand on Cole's knee beneath the table and sighed.

"Wyatt, Chris and Melinda…they're all twice blessed, right?"

Leo and Piper nodded.

"Well, Ben, Alexia and Smith, as the children of the Source and a witch viewed as a 'traitor', aren't twice blessed. They're not blessed at all."

"You're kids got twice blessed," explained Cole. "Ours have been twice cursed."

"Twice…cursed?" repeated Paige.

Phoebe nodded. "The elders themselves cursed our children."

"But why?"

Cole raised an eyebrow at Leo, almost disgusted by the white lighters naivety. "What do you mean 'why'? Isn't that obvious?"

"Cole, calm down," warned Phoebe.

Ignoring his wife, Cole continued. "You're telling me you didn't know that your precious elders cursed our children because they wanted the upper hand? They cursed our babies because they wanted to get one up on us. Because, if ever the truce collapsed, they wanted our children to be helpless, so they could be easily slaughtered!"

"Cole!" Phoebe shouted. "Please, calm down. You're not helping anything."

"Sorry," he muttered, looking at his feet. "It's just-"

"I know." Phoebe turned to her sisters and Leo. "Basically, the fact that they are twice cursed, means that, while their powers are greatly advanced and they can use them to great affect, they are useless against any one fighting for the side of good. This isn't an issue while the truce is in place, but if the two sides were to start fighting again, our children would be completely helpless."

Leo was still frowned. "I still don't understand why the elders would do that."

"Oh for fuck's sake!" exclaimed Cole. "Because they're not as fair and as just as they claim they are. We had issued a truce – not them – not you – us, Phoebe and I – King and Queen of the underworld agreed to call it quits, but still they decided it would be best to maintain the upper hand, just incase we changed our minds. Figured the best thing would be to allow our children to die."

"They did it without our knowing," Phoebe added quietly. "And they refuse to reverse it."

"Understand," muttered Cole, breathing heavily, "I don't want to see any of our children hurt, but what your planning is so much more dangerous for Ben, Alexia and Smith, than it is for Wyatt, Chris and Melinda."

"Just, let me see what I can do," requested Leo, before orbing out.

* * *

* * *

Eeh…yea, okay, well please review, and play nice.


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